Building an Academic Career

Tenure and promotion: What you should know, what you should ask

What do you need to know to successfully navigate tenure and promotion? When should you start? Who do you talk to? How can a mentor help? What should be included in your promotion and tenure binder and how do you start building it? Bring your questions and join the discussion.

Don Foss, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Houston

Philip Cohen, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Dean, Graduate School, Professor, Department of English, The University of Texas at Arlington

Daniel Mosse, Professor, Department Chair, Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh

Event Flyer (pdf)         Powerpoint Slides

Teaching and Learning in the STEM Classroom

Fostering critical thinking

National polls indicate that over 90% of faculty believe critical thinking is the most important part of undergraduate education, yet how do we foster critical thinking in our teaching? Identifying what it means to "think critically" is one challenge, and how to assess it is another.

Join instructors from Northwestern University who are involved in an NSF-funded project to assess critical thinking in STEM courses. We will provide examples from chemical engineering and other STEM fields as well as discuss ideas for creatively engaging students to think critically in your discipline.

Event Flyer (pdf), Criteria for Critical Thinking Assgnmt (pdf)  Critical Thinking Grid (pdf)   , Strategies for Enhancing Critical Thinking

Powerpoint Slides

Coffee Hour:

Building an Academic Career

Teaching at a primarily minority institution

Is teaching at a historically black or Hispanic serving institution different from teaching at other institutions? What kinds of skills, understandings, approaches, sensitivities or strategies are helpful? Hear three perspectives on this very large topic and begin to explore some of the rewards and challenges of teaching at a primarily minority institution. Bring your experiences, perspectives and questions.

Tabitha Hardy, Post Doc, Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) Fellow, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Dr. Keri Mans, MERIT Postdoctoral Scholar,  Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Dr. Imani Goffney, Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Houston

Event Flyer (pdf)           Powerpoint Slides

Teaching and Learning in the STEM Classroom

Teaching and using writing skills in the STEM classroom

We know our STEM students need strong reading and writing skills to support them in a STEM career and we know that writing can be an effective tool to support student learning. But with all the demands of undergraduate STEM courses, too often writing falls away. How can we incorporate authentic writing activities in the STEM classroom that support the course goals and objectives? Can this be done without “taking away” from other STEM content that needs to be covered? Should STEM instructors be actively teaching writing skills and if so, how do we begin? How can we move from “learning-to-write” to “writing-to-learn?”

What sort of content should I offer? What sort of assignments should I teach STEM students? What depth of reading and discussion could I offer? What will my STEM students expect?

Michelle Sulikowski, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University

Kathryn Miller, Professor, Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis

Brian Chabot, Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University

Event Flyer (pdf)        Powerpoint Slides

Building an Academic Career

Developing a work-life balance for sustaining a productive career and your sanity

Finding a good work-life balance is often a challenge. Hear about issues, strategies and approaches to balancing your professional and personal needs, then develop your own plan. Participants will be invited track how they spend their time the following week and reflect on what they see. Discuss your experience in our Academic Career Online Learning Community at http://www.cirtl.net/learningcommunities/academiccareer. At the start of the next month’s Coffee Hour, we will have time to report out on our one-week “assignment” and reflections.

In the weeks leading up to the Coffee Hour, Dr. Rique Campa will be blogging about his daily routine as well as why he choses to organize his days the way he does. His daily blog posts will begin on Monday, February 11th and will focus on four primary themes: work, family, self and time management. So, please check the Academic Career Online Learning Community Blog at http://www.cirtl.net/learningcommunities/academiccareer daily to hear about how Dr. Campa sustains a work-life balance and his sanity.

Rique Campa, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Ecology, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Michigan State University

Event Flyer (pdf)      Powerpoint Presentation 

Teaching and Learning in the STEM Classroom

Teaching in diverse classrooms

How do we open the classroom door wider for broader inclusion and retention in our STEM classrooms? While many in the past have laid nearly total blame for a lower level of diversity on the stereotyped appeal of the content of the fields and their pipelines, there are also issues of classroom method that can have profound effects. How can our pedagogy and classroom approaches make STEM classrooms more open to the stimulating and enriching experience for all students of participation from a wide diversity of perspectives and life experience? Join us as we discuss and share how to engage and build on the tremendous resource of diversity in the classroom.

A. T. Miller, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Diversity Initiatives, Senior Lecturer, Department of English, Cornell University

Yanqiao Chen, Undergraduate in the Dept of Chemistry, McNair Scholar, Physics & Chemistry TA & Tutor, Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives, Cornell University

Event Flyer (pdf)       Powerpoint Slides

Building an Academic Career

Alternative academic careers

Alternative academic career (alt-ac) opportunities appear to be increasing in both number and prominence. What are these positions, and how can you pursue them? How can your teaching or research experience be an asset in these positions? What are the advantages and disadvantages of staying in academia in a non-faculty position? Hear three individuals in alternative academic careers talk about their experiences and perspectives.

Chris Vanags, Associate Director, Center for Science Outreach, Vanderbilt University

Anne Poduska, Graduate & International Student Career Advisor, Cornell University

Sue Cardinal, Chemistry Librarian, University of Rochester

Event Flyer (pdf)         Career Options & Resources         Transferable Skills and Opportunities

Teaching and Learning in the STEM Classroom

Electronic distractions in the classroom: managing and utilizing the instant connections to the world

Are smartphones, laptops and iPads a classroom distraction or untapped asset? As an instructor, how do you handle digital distractions in the classroom? Should you strive to make your classes so engaging that there is little temptation to fire up Facebook or check a Twitter feed or is the Internet simply too alluring to resist? Should you try to ban the use of these tools during class? How about the BYOD route and ask students to “Bring Your Own Device” and utilize their allure and computing power in your class?

Join the Coffee Hour to explore this timely and rapidly evolving topic.

Mary Elizabeth Besterfield-Sacre, Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, Director, Engineering Education Research Center, University of Pittsburgh

Angel Hoekstra, Postdoctoral Fellow, Graduate Teacher Program, Lead Coordinator for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Instructor, Departments of Sociology and Continuing Education, University of Colorado, Boulder

Event Flyer (pdf)
Blackboard Collaborate Session Recording

Building an Academic Career

University politics: Navigating the rules and expectations

How does your institution work? What are some of the unarticulated expectations or assumptions regarding your position, research, teaching, committee work, and service to the institution or community? How can you fit in and what should you avoid? How do you find out? Join the discussion and hear faculty talk about their institutions and navigating the rules and expectations.

Jon Sticklen, Director, Center for Engineering Education Research; Associate Professor, Computer Science and Engineering Department, Michigan State University

Robert A. Linsenmeier, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Neurobiology, and Ophthalmology Director of Northwestern Center for Engineering Education Research, Northwestern University

Event Flyer (pdf)
Blackboard Collaborate Session Recording

Building an Academic Career

The academic job interview: What to expect, how to prepare

You’ve been selected to come to campus for a day or two of interviewing. How do you prepare before you get on the plane? What can you expect? What might give you that extra edge? What commons missteps should you avoid? Join the discussion and hear the perspectives of recently hired faculty as well as those who have served on many hiring committees. Bring your own questions and experiences to the discussion.

Jed Sparks, Director, Office of Undergraduate Biology; Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University

Elizabeth Becker, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, St Joseph's University

Allison Rober, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Ball State University

Event Flyer (pdf)
Blackboard Collaborate Session Recording

Building an Academic Career

Teaching at a primarily undergraduate institution

Where do you want to teach? What balance do you want between teaching and research? What is important to you regarding course load, student contact, research support, department size, or tenure requirements? Teaching at a primarily undergraduate research institution is very different from teaching at a large research university. Join the discussion as three faculty talk about their experiences teaching at primarily undergraduate institutions.

Heather Whitney, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Wheaton College

Tara Davis, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Hawai'i Pacific University

Alysa Remsburg, Associate Professor, Department of Ecology, Unity College

Event Flyer (pdf)
View the Blackboard Collaborate recording
Take Aways From the Coffee Hour

The Academic Job Market

Alternate Academic Careers: Using your Teaching and Research Skills Outside the Classroom

While certainly tenured academic faculty positions are a great place to take those STEM doctorates, there are lots of alternative academic careers (alt-ac) that appear to be increasing in both number and prominence. Where are these positions? Do any industry alt-ac options still allow you to use your teaching skills? What alternatives exist in academia? How does one pursue these positions in a job search?

Hear from three panelists who are using their STEM expertise in alternative academic careers within and outside of the academy.

Katie Moynihan, Office of Technology Transfer, University of Michigan

Hillary Carter, AAAS Fellow, U.S. Department of State

Mark Urban-Lurain, Associate Professor, Center for Engineering Education Research, Undergraduate Studies Office, College of Engineering, Michigan State University

Event Flyer (pdf)
Blackboard Collaborate Session Recording

The Academic Job Market

Maintaining Balance and Resilience in your Professional and Personal Life

How do you create a balance in your professional and personal life? How can you respond to the many needs of being an engaged teacher, active researcher, responsible departmental and institutional member, and successful grant writer while also being able to meet people in a new town, give time and attention to family, cope with illnesses, get exercise, or stay connected with important personal activities? In a pinch what do you do? Are there tools or strategies that can help? Where can you turn for support?

Join the discussion and hear what others have to say and share how you have found to make it work!

Eric Horsman, Assistant Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University

Kristyn Masters, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Event Flyer (pdf)

The Academic Job Market

On the Job Market: Varied Paths to the Professoriate

Traditionally we think of the PhD graduate jumping right into a faculty position with possibly a year or two post-doc in between. But what about other paths such as longer post docs, post docs at governmental labs, teaching post-docs? How about some time in industry, the military, at the lab bench or somewhere else? What is to be gained and lost? If your path is less traditional how do you highlight the strengths of your path when applying for a tenure track position? What have you done? Come hear several people talk about their alternative career paths and engage in discussion about those ‘varied paths to the professoriate.’

Joseph Conrad, Post doc, Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University

Omar R. Harvey, Post doc, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Mike Myers, Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University

Mark Connolly, Assistant Scientist, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Event Flyer (pdf)
Blackboard Collaborate Session Recording

The Academic Job Market

Finding Funding to Support your love for Teaching

Are you interested in doing a teaching-as-research study in your classroom? Do you have some innovative ideas for a new course? Want to try a new teaching approach? Redesign an old course? Team up with a colleague to in your institution or elsewhere to try something new? All of this is far easier if you can find some funding to support those innovative teaching ideas. Come to the January Coffee Hour to find out more about how to "Find funding to support your love of teaching.

Ali Felix-Locher, Biology Department , Grand Valley State University

Rique Campa, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University

Blackboard Collaborate Session Recording

The Academic Job Market

Continuing STEM education work as a faculty: presenting, publishing, and doing TAR work in the classroom

Continuing STEM education work as a faculty: presenting, publishing, and doing TAR work in the classroom

How do you incorporate a systematic research approach to improving your teaching over the long haul? Can you really apply your research skills to make improvement of teaching and learning an ongoing process? Come hear how several faculty use a teaching-as-research approach to modify what they do in their own classroom and beyond.

Trina McMahon, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Robert Webster III, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University

Patrice Jackson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Blackboard Collaborate Session Recording

The Academic Job Market

What to Expect the First Year as a Faculty

What does the first year as a faculty member hold for you? What can you do as a graduate student to prepare for it? What should you know before that first class, first committee meeting, or first new research initiative? What tips, tools, and strategies might make both your first years’ teaching and research more effective and rewarding? If your first year is not in a tenure track position, how can you make the most of it?

Come hear from a panel of faculty as they reflect on how to have a successful first year of first year as an academic faculty member.

Kendra Cheruvelil, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State Univeristy

Sarah Titus, Department of Geology, Carleton College

Heather Miller, Department of Geology, Grand Valley State University

The Academic Job Market

Faculty Job Interview: Experiences from the front lines

Have a faculty job interview in your near future?Join us and find out what to expect at a faculty job interview.

Scott Winterstein, Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University

Karen McNeal, Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University

Patrice Jackson, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Patrice's Slides
Scott's Slides
Blackboard Collaborate Session Recording

Navigating the Job Market

Making the Transition from Graduate Student to Faculty

Join us and find out what new faculty have discovered as they have transitioned from graduate student to assistant faculty.

How have they navigated teaching new classes, departmental politics, life-balance issues, tenure requirements, institutional expectations and student expectations? What do they wish they had known before? What graduate student preparation has served them well and what would they do differently if they had only known.

Come share your own experiences and hear from others.

Jennifer Gubbels, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Augustana College

Audio Recording

Navigating the Job Market

The Interview Process - What to expect, how to prepare

What is expected of you at the job interview process and how can you arrive fully prepared?

How can you make the best impression?

Hear interview experiences and reflections from two CIRTL graduates who recently secured assistant professor positions. What more do you want to know about the interview process and how to prepare? Bring your questions, share your experiences, and join us for a lively discussion.

Kristin Plessel, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, UW Rock County

Karla Welch, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Louisville

Audio Recording

Navigating the Job Market

Developing Written Materials for the Job Application

In developing your written credentials and preparing application materials for your job search, it is crucial to represent your professional experience, accomplishments, expertise, and qualities in the most impactful manner possible. This online workshop is designed to help participants learn how to present their written credentials and application materials in the strongest possible manner and to provide insight from the perspective of hiring managers or search committees. Learn what employers are looking for and how to write your way into an interview.

Matt Helm, MSU Career Services

PowerPoint Presentation (ppt)
Audio Recording

Navigating the Job Market

What to Know About Tenure and Promotion BEFORE Applying for a Job

Please read FacFormD before viewing the Coffee Hour

What do you know about the variation of tenure and promotion requirements among institutions?

How do you find out about those requirements—before you accept, or even apply for, a position?

See tenure requirements from several different institutions and find out what that might mean for you in terms of your career decision. This presentation is has been part of Michigan State University’s FAST Fellows/CIRTL Program and is always a favorite. Bring your questions!

Rique Campa, Professor of Wildlife Ecology, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, Michigan State University. As Faculty-In-Residence with the Graduate School at MSU, Dr. Campa develops and evaluates programs related to the career and professional development of graduate students.

PowerPoint Presentation(ppt)
Audio Recording

Navigating the Job Market

Using your Teaching as Research Project to Strengthen Your Professional Life

Teaching as Research (TAR) projects involve the use of research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences of students and teachers. While the TAR projects are aimed at improving teaching in the classroom, the impact can be much broader, both personally and professionally.

Come hear about how the TAR work of three students influenced their thinking about careers and provided professional opportunities. Bring your own story and find out how your TAR project can further strengthen your professional life.

Jonathan Wellons Vanderbilt Univ PhD student

Kristin Getter Michigan State University Post-Doc

Geoff Horst, Michigan State University PhD student

Download the Getter Paper (pdf)
Download the Horst Paper (pdf)
Audio Recording

Navigating the Job Market

Where do you want to work? Teaching and research at different institutions

What balance do you want between teaching and research? What are the differences teaching at a small liberal arts college, research university, or a 2 year community college? What is important to you regarding course load, student contact, research support, department size, or tenure requirements?

The diversity of post-secondary institutions may be far broader than you have considered. Hear a panel of new faculty from very different institutions talk about their teaching experiences and academic life.

Adam Hoffman, University of Dubuque

Kathryn Devine, College of Idaho

Sarah Bannen, Madison Area Technical College, Mathematics Department

Audio Recording

Navigating the Job Market

The CIRTL Network Exchange: Why do it and what can you get from it?

The CIRTL Network Exchange Program is an all-expenses paid trip for you, a CIRTL graduate student or Post Doc, to fly to another institution, give a talk on your disciplinary research and your Teaching as Research project, support you while you meet with possible contacts and collaborators, provide you with an opportunity to do a practice job talk and campus interview visit, and give you with feedback along the way.

Jeff Klukas and Tim Wagner, graduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who participated in the CIRTL Network Exchange last spring, shared their impressions of the experience at this coffee hour event.

Jeff Klukas

Tim Wagner

Audio Recording

Coffee Hour Presentation

Academic Careers and Hiring at Two-Year Colleges

What kinds of positions are you looking for after you finish your degree?

Is a tenure track position at a large research institution the best fit for you?

Are you interested in hearing about some alternative career options?

Roughly half of all US undergraduates are studying at community colleges, according to The American Association of Community Colleges.

Todd Stebbins, Associate Dean at Madison Area Technical College, and Holly Kerby, Instructor of Chemistry and Creative Writing/Drama and Executive Director of the Fusion Science Theater, at Madison Area Technical College, discuss academic career opportunities at these 2-year institutions. Explore questions about the current hiring landscape, tenure, academic opportunities, and teaching expectations.

Audio Recording

Coffee Hour Presentation

Academic careers: Where are grads going and why?

Is being a tenure-track professor the only pathway for a PhD wanting to teach and do research? What is important to you in you professional career and where are you looking?

Although tenure-track positions at research intensive universities are often portrayed as the ideal destination for doctoral students seeking an academic career, findings from a recent survey (see here) suggest that contemporary doctoral students see parts of these “fast track” positions as incompatible with a healthy work-life balance. Using the Mason et al. study as a starting point, this CIRTL Coffee Hour will discuss some of the tensions and trade-offs that doctoral students are facing. We will also examine how professional development programs like those in the CIRTL Network can give doctoral students knowledge and skills that make them more marketable for a range of academic careers.

Mark Connolly, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Audio Recording

Coffee Hour Presentation

Preparing to be a Faculty Member

The April 7 Coffee Hour will provide an informal opportunity to further discuss the topics raised in the CIRTLCast held the previous hour.

The CIRTLCast presentation and following Coffee Hour discussion examine what a new generation of faculty need to be able to do to succeed in academia today. What does faculty work look like and how is it changing? What competencies should graduate students and post-docs develop as they prepare for faculty roles?

Ann Austin, Michigan State University

Audio Recording